Devolution economics: can local decision making strengthen Britain’s economies?

In May 2026, two UK nations—Scotland and Wales—face general elections in their devolved assemblies. These elections, together with local elections across England (including in London), raise the possibility of a significant increase in devolved policymaking. In both Scotland and Wales, parties with proposals to devolve power much further are leading in the polls. In England, city regions are gaining powers.

To anticipate this change, the LSE Growth Lab has invited experts and politicians with a first-hand experience of devolution to debate how the future for Britain’s nations should look – what are the benefits of increased devolution, and are there any risks?

Meet our speaker and chair

Rhun ap Iorwerth (@RhunapIorwerth) is the leader of Plaid Cymru, serving as a Member of the Senedd for Ynys Môn (Anglesey) since 2013, known for his background as a journalist and broadcaster before entering politics. Born in Tonteg, he studied at Cardiff University, worked for BBC Wales as Chief Political Correspondent, and became party leader in June 2023, focusing on uniting the party and promoting Welsh independence.

Lorena López de Lacalle (@lorenalacalleA) is President of the European Free Alliance (EFA). Born in Gasteiz (Basque Country), she trained as a translator and conference interpreter at the University of Geneva and has worked with institutions including the European Parliament and NATO. She served in the Regional Government of Álava from 2007 to 2010 as Minister for Culture, the Basque Language and Sport, and was elected to the Álava regional parliament in 2011. She has been Secretary for International Relations at Eusko Alkartasuna since 2010 and a member of the EFA Bureau since 2013.

Marie Macklin CBE (@MarieMacklin) is a business leader and investor specialising in urban regeneration and place-based economic development. She is Founder and Executive Chair of HALO Urban Regeneration, which is transforming former industrial sites into low-carbon, innovation-led communities, including the award-winning HALO Enterprise and Innovation Centre in Kilmarnock.

Chelsea Pinches-Burrowes is the Founder of WCS Agency and the owner of Cardiff Life Magazine, Cardiff Life Awards. A multi-award-winning marketing and media entrepreneur, Chelsea has grown one of Wales’ most recognised marketing and publishing collectives from a kitchen table start-up into a multi-brand business working across PR, marketing campaigns, publishing, talent and strategic partnerships.

Graeme Roy (@ProfGraemeRoy) is the current Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) and Professor of Economics at the University of Glasgow, known for his expertise in public policy, the Scottish economy, and devolution. He previously served as Head of the First Minister's Policy Unit in the Scottish Government. He leads the SFC's role in independently overseeing Scotland's budget, provides economic commentary, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Richard Davies (daviesrichard.substack) is Director of the UK’s Economics Observatory and the LSE Growth Lab. Richard has held various policy roles: he was previously Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors and earlier in his career worked at the Bank of England. Richard is also a keen writer and has been Economics Editor of The Economist; he has published two general-interest economics books, Extreme Economies (2020), and Making Sense of the Modern Economy (2015). Richard’s radio documentary Steel Dragons (2024), exploring the tension between steelmaking in Wales and China featured on BBC R4.

More about this event

The LSE School of Public Policy (@LSEPublicPolicy) equips you with the skills and ideas to transform people and societies. It is an international community where ideas and practice meet. Their approach creates professionals with the ability to analyse, understand and resolve the challenges of contemporary governance.

The Growth Labs at LSE and Harvard are working together to combine policy expertise and academic research in the pursuit of growth-enhancing economic policies around the world. The LSE Growth Lab works at the cutting edge of policy research and brings together practitioners and economists to design and evaluate policies that can generate inclusive prosperity.

Hashtag for this event is: #LSEPublicPolicy

Any questions?

You can also contact us at spp.events@lse.ac.uk.

From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.

Whilst we are hosting this listing, LSE Events does not take responsibility for the running and administration of this event. While we take responsible measures to ensure that accurate information is given here this event is ultimately the responsibility of the organisation presenting the event.

LSE holds a wide range of events, covering many of the most controversial issues of the day, and speakers at our events may express views that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science.